1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a music or other audio-playing toothbrush especially suited to motivating children to brush their teeth. The invention herein pertains more specifically to such a child's toothbrush having a handle exterior that provides a relatively uninterrupted surface for displaying graphics related to such music or other audio. The invention also provides a unique handle interior design which provides a speaker enclosure for improving sound quality.
2. Background Art
The general concept of a toothbrush having a handle for producing sound is not new. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,479 to Lyman; U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,762 to Scheimer; U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,245 to Khodadadi; and Published Patent Application No. 2005/0278882 to Drzewiecki et al; all disclose such toothbrushes. All of these prior art toothbrushes have the same general purpose of motivating daily extended brushing of the teeth, especially by children who would be most attracted and influenced by a toothbrush that plays a recognizable musical tune and has compatible graphics such as related cartoon characters and the like. Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned patents and applications disclose configurations which provide a suitable handle surface for displaying such graphics or disclose or suggest a handle capable of producing superior sound fidelity.
In regard to a suitable handle surface for displaying graphics, handles which are generally of round cylindrical shape are not preferred because they are more difficult to apply graphics or print on, they tend to distort the images and the curved surface does not permit all of the graphics to be directed uniformly in a packaged configuration. Moreover, toothbrush handles that have interrupted surfaces to accommodate electric switches or other functional elements such as removable compartments, do not provide suitable surfaces for receiving graphics. Furthermore, conventional size, narrow handle surfaces do not afford sufficient surface area to place meaningful or appropriate size graphics.
The sound quality in such prior art sound producing toothbrushes, has not been adequately addressed either. Simply providing a tiny sound transducer that is sufficiently small to be received inside the toothbrush handle will not produce good quality sound to provide an attractive and recognizable tune sufficient to motivate a child to brush his or her teeth. Poor quality sound can become more of an annoyance and a deterrence than no sound at all.
Thus, despite the prior art attempts to teach a motivational music-playing toothbrush, there is still an ongoing need for such an invention that overcomes the noted deficiencies.